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Sunday, October 27, 2013

The Uncles, falling in love with our new city, and tantrums in public

This weekend The Uncles came to visit. They flew in late Friday evening from Austin, and we had a whirlwind 24 hours catching up and showing them our new city. These two love our child so much, and we are so excited that they are starting their adoption journey. You can read more about them at Brandon and Scott Adopt on Facebook.

Scott brought his fancy camera, so we got some great shots. (I am now itching for a fancy camera of my own.)
Following pancakes, pineapple, and lots of bacon at our apartment, we walked down to the Seattle Center.

Marshall insisted on pushing the stroller himself.

Thankful to get him to hold still long enough to sneak a hug.

Two peas in a pod.

Love this snotty little guy!

Showing Uncle Brandon the important parts of Seattle: a firetruck and a concrete mixer.

After paying due homage to the Space Needle and the Chihuly Museum, we thought we'd try to capture a picture of all of us. The group shot below is the 20th take. Not kidding.

How fun is this?!

Brandon and I solving the world's problems.

The Space Needle, the fountain, and beautiful fall colors.

Pretend you haven't seen this when you get our Christmas card this year.

The Uncles.

20th take is the charm!

And then we had a tantrum. A loud, screaming one. Marshall found a stick he wanted and then proceeded to hit Daniel with it. Daniel took it away. Marshall was not happy. So, we pushed him in the BOB back through the Seattle Center as he screamed and screamed. I wanted to capture the moment so I had a true, honest glimpse of our day, but we already had enough you-are-terrible-at-parenting stares, so I thought it would be overkill. Just use your imagination.

After lunch for all of us and a nap for Marshall, we finished the afternoon at Pike's Place Market. While we were refueling at Starbucks, a gentleman approached us and scolded Marshall for touching the rails that enclosed the area where we were sitting. "Those are dirty, and you shouldn't be touching them." (Parenting advice from strangers--always fun.)

Five minutes later, another gentleman, in a Team USA bike kit, approached us and gave Marshall two Beanie Babies. "I bought 8,000 of these just to give out to children." Then he went back to the corner and started pedaling on his stationary bike he had set up. (Gifts from strangers where the intention is unclear--even more fun.)

One of these Beanie Babies is a monkey. Marshall now calls it "Other Monkey," and he has already climbed the ranks to bedtime status. (Monkey, Frog, and Other Monkey.)

This is bubblegum. Lots and lots of bubblegum.

I thought we were pushing our luck by going to dinner that evening, but Marshall was a champ. It gave me hope for the future--we may be able to go out in public regularly again! With grownups! And encounter more strangers with advice and gifts!